A Quick Way To Reduce Online Hate And Racism
Five people have now been arrested for their abuse of England football players after England’s failure to win the Euro 2020 final last weekend. Most people within my own social circle are horrified by what has happened to the three players who failed to score from the penalty spot.
But what happens now?
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, claimed (during Prime Minister’s Questions) on Wednesday this week that he had given all the major social media company bosses the hairdryer treatment. This was disputed by the Labour party suggesting that it was more like a garden party where the PM had an exasperated chat and said ‘why can’t you do something?’
Let’s leave aside the politics of this. I do believe that the failure of Johnson and his cabinet to get behind the anti-racism stance of the team actually made the racists bolder — but blaming politicians will not fix the issue.
We can’t fix racism in society overnight. There are many people in England who don’t appear to understand anything about English history. Talk to them about our historic brotherhood with Germany through the Saxon tribes or post-war Caribbean migration, or Indian partition, and their eyes glaze over as they begin another chant of ‘EN-GER-LAND!’
There is nothing immediate to be gained from blaming politicians or attempting to educate English people about their own nation, but can we do something about the platforms that allow anyone to publish this hatred?
I believe so.
The simplistic answer is to ban anonymity. Make all social media accounts verified with government ID. This is what many commentators have called for this week, but this is also problematic because there are many subjects that people discuss online without wanting to reveal their true identity. People suffering abuse from their partner. Young people unsure about their sexuality. Relationship advice. Eating disorders. There are valid reasons for hiding your identity when discussing sensitive topics.
But it remains a fact that the vast majority of racist (and sexuality themed) abuse could be eliminated if people had to comment online using their real name.
So what’s a simple step one that all the social media platforms could use?
Here is a suggestion — filters. At present, Twitter features a very prominent blue tick next to the name of any account that is verified by the Twitter administrators. The tick confirms that this account is verified and is typically used to mark out prominent artists, athletes, and journalists.
Why don’t we take inspiration from this?
- Blue tick = celebrity
- Green tick = I am using my real name and it has been verified by sending a copy of my government ID to the social network
Then add a simple filter on the display. Do you want to see all users or only verified users — the green and blue ticks?
Imagine if Marcus Rashford could go on his Twitter or Instagram and engage with real people, verified by the social networks — not trolls and not racists hiding behind names like @engpatriot1234. Even the critics could at least focus on his game.
The private discussions could still take place anonymously. Many people would probably choose to have an anonymous and main account to facilitate switching between different environments. It may lead to less engagement in those caring or advice forums, or on those hashtags, but it would also lead to a dramatic reduction in online hatred.
It could at least be a useful initial step?
CC Photo by Mitch Rosen
